Beware of Valentines Day frauds

Valentine’s Day is here and its a time when love is in the air everywhere and feelings are exchanged between couples and new relationships are formed.  At the same time it is also a time when fraudsters use the vulnerability of those in romantic moods to relieve them of hard earned money.  According to reports the US alone records losses to the tune of $88 million to $143 million, from a staggering 21,400 scams.

How these men or women operate is by creating a fake identity on social media such as Facebook or Instagram or other dating sites or apps and then make a very impressive proposal to unsuspecting victims.  Once they establish a connection they slowly build confidence over the next few days.  One fine day they ask them for money usually playing the line that they work for the military and are based abroad and that’s, why they cant, meet them.  The fraudsters also use medical emergencies as a reason and once they get what they want they usually disappear.

Surveys confirm that the age group of 40 to 69 end up falling for the scams and losing double the money than the group between those in their 20s.  So enjoy and celebrate Lovers Day safely and for love’s sake dont become victims of the Romance scamsters.